Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Lexi Court spent seven years traveling the world, living the nomadic Broadway life, in an attempt to outrun the broken heart Nick Rivers gave her. Now, there’s nowhere left to go.

When she accepted a position as a high school drama teacher in Las Vegas, Lexi hoped to get over Nick, find a nice guy, and settle down. But what should be a quiet summer gets turned upside down when Lexi's best friend, Taffy, drafts her to be an emergency replacement coach on a televised vocal competition.

Feeling out of her league among the other three celebrity coaches, Lexi fights for the most promising contestants to be on her team. One note from a single voice shatters her summer. Nick unexpectedly auditions and joins Lexi's team. With her vocal crush on him raging as strong as ever, she has nowhere to run from Nick’s dreamy looks or siren voice.

Lexi has no doubt that Nick can win the competition. The question is does he want to win her heart as well or will he damage it beyond repair? CLICK to Purchase.

Monday, September 21, 2015

(Last week I posted part one of my interview with high fantasy author Lisa Rector, who just released book two of her trilogy, "Chronicles of the Half-Emrys." "The Two Masters" debuted with high praise from readers of book one, "The Master of Lies." I don't write fantasy, so I'm especially awed by Lisa's deft world-building and her complex, unique characters. They contain great action scenes and suspense, but they're clean reads a family can enjoy together. You'll want to pick these up. Books one and two are currently FREE to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

How do you
deal with writer’s block?

It usually doesn’t take long for me to work out a
problem. Basic ideas come pretty quickly. Plot holes a little longer to
resolve. Usually I sleep on it. Seriously. I just think about my book and a
specific scene and close my eyes as I analyze the material. Sometimes I wake in
the night and the idea has come to me, sometimes I dream it. But it always
finds its way to me.

What’s the
best thing about being a writer?

Flexible hours. You have to be ready to write when
an idea strikes. Like at 3 am.

But no really, I am a major homebody. I like just
staying home and writing, in front of my fire in the winter months, or in my
sunroom in the summer. Perfect job for my introverted self. I think I will
become a hermit, only emerging to buy gourmet cupcakes.

What’s your
advice for aspiring writers?

Get a support group. Join a critique group. Free
write without stopping until the book is done. Forget the grammar at first.
Just get it down. Find people to critique, beta-read, and proofread. But have
fun. Don’t let anyone tell you how to write your book. Take the advice and use
what works for you. And remember, only write the parts people want to
read!

What are
you currently working on?

I am currently working on book three in my
half-emryn chronicles. Master of Time is in the revision stages, and I hope to
release it in the winter of 2016. The chronicle picks up with Meuric and Catrin
falling through time, right after the sonic boom in book two.

How do you
get inspired to write? What inspires you to write?

Anything and everything inspires me. I take
inspiration from the scriptures, from TV shows, books I’ve read, and dreams I’ve
had. When I first started my books, I was on a LOTR marathon and received most
of my inspiration from those movies. Many of my characters are based off LOTR.

Now that I’ve been writing for two years, the
ideas keep coming and I cannot write fast enough. I hope that as my writing
improves the process goes faster.

Tell us
about your writing process.

I’m not an outliner. I am a write-as-it-comes to
me person.

Do you have
any rituals to get you in the writing mode?

Lindsey Stirling, famous violinist, has two
amazing tracks on one of her albums. During long writing stretches, I jump up
every hour and dance in my kitchen, and when those two tracks come on, I
pretend I’m an airbender, harnessing power. Or sometimes an emrys. My
less-than-graceful dance moves mimic those of the airbender, but it’s slightly
reminiscent of Tai Chi. Very empowering.

Do you
listen to or talk to your characters?

I become my characters. I put myself into the
scene and live it.

How did you
decide how to publish your books?

I wanted control. And truthfully, approaching an
agent or traditional publisher and writing that synopsis just scares me. I’m
such an introvert!

What do you
think about the future of book publishing?

Self-published eBooks all the way. Better
royalties. Ease of publishing. Just make sure you have a fantastic editor!

What other
projects are you involved in? What do you do when you’re not writing?

My garden changes every year. I have raised veggie
beds. So far, I’ve been able to keep a lemon and a lime tree alive for over two
winters. I’ve already harvested some of the fruit!

I’m really involved with my church. I teach the
women’s Sunday school lessons on occasion, and help new converts learn about my
faith.

Where will
your next writing endeavors take you?

I have a whole other series planned, Lost Emrys,
about an emrys stuck in our world. The prequel to my half-emrys series is in
the works as well. Many fans want to hear Niawen’s story.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Author Interview

with

LISA RECTOR

Part OneIn the name of full disclosure, let me begin by telling you that talented fantasy author Lisa Rector, featured below, is a member of my critique group, and a really great person about whom I'd say lovely things even if she weren't a friend. But check out the reviews her books are getting on Amazon, and you'll see that she has earned the praise she's receiving. She's the real deal. (Click on the covers to purchase her books.)

Tell us a
little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now? Do you
have any pets?

I’m a Maryland native and could never imagine
living anywhere else. And no, I do not like crabs or Old Bay Seasoning. A
mountain girl at heart, occasionally, every so often, I drift down to the coast
and float away on the beachy breezes.

I married my high school sweetheart for time and
all eternity in the Washington D.C. Temple after I fell in love with his
endless sense of humor. I enjoyed a short stint as a labor and delivery nurse
before becoming a stay-at-home mom for my two beautiful daughters. In addition
to my newfound love of writing, my passions are my faith in Jesus Christ,
gardening, and yoga. My favorite delights are decadent homemade cakes, cookies,
or brownies—never store-bought.

I have gone through tons of cats, and right now, I
am cat-less. They’re all buried on the mountain in, what my parents have, a
thriving pet cemetery. The last cat I lost was the hardest, and because of my
husband’s allergies, we can’t have anymore.

At what age
did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?

Due to the delightful country music on the school
bus, I had to find an alternative activity to occupy my brain. So I read every
long 45-minute bus ride to and from school. My favorite childhood author was
Lois Duncan. Motherhood separated me from reading for a time, and now I enjoy
it every evening once I put my manuscripts away for the night. I started
writing in February of 2013. On a whim. An idea came to me. I never even played
with the idea to write before, but spent plenty of time dreaming up fantasies
once my head hit the pillow at night. It was time.

Who are
your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read? Who
inspires you in your writings?

I love fantasy. Anything that involves powers and
immortals . . . and dragons help too. Give me a hunky guy and a snarky protag.
I love snark. And clean steamy scenes that make your blood rush. I get a major
kick out dystopian. Oh, and the novel has to be a quick read. I’m a light
thinker. Give me a book I can read in one sitting and that tears me up inside.
The Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi did just that. It destroyed me.

Tell us a
little about your latest book?

What’s inside The
Two Masters, the second book in my Chronicles of the Half-Emrys? Immortal
emrys, dragons, magical creatures, powers, light vs. darkness, good vs. evil,
revenge, love, hope, forgiveness…

I created a species of immortals who can harness
the power of light. My emrys. Which actually means immortal in Welsh. My
half-emrys are the result of the immortals mixing their bloodline with humans.
The result is the introduction of darkness along with the light. They’re able
to use both powers, but it becomes a constant internal struggle for them. With
the added temptations of the two competing Creators, the one good and the other
evil, many half-emrys find themselves stuck between two worlds.

And in the case for the two characters in this
novel, their ever-balancing scale of internal light and darkness is the least
of their problems.

It’s a story I wrote to be a quick read, not
weighed down with lots of superfluous writing, but filled with lots of tension.
Written for a YA audience (but readers of a mature age would enjoy it), and it’s
a clean story, safe enough that a fourteen year old could read it.

What’s my favorite part? The dragon humor. I have
hilarious dragons. Oh, you must not forget the romantic tension. And one part
always makes me cry, but you’ll have to read my novel to find out.

What
Inspired You to Write This Book?

I started writing this book back when I was doing
a Lord of the Rings movie marathon. I even based some of my characters off
Tolkien’s. I imagined the rolling hills of Middle Earth for the Realm of Terrin
and the murky swamps of the Dead Marshes for Rolant. The torturous snow peaks of
the Misty Mountains could be my Eirwen Mountains, where the entrance to
Gorlassar is hidden. And when you enter Gorlassar and fly to the capital emryn
city called Mared, I imagined the majestic music from when the Fellowship
entered the great hall in the Mines of Moria.

But scenes and characters aside, I think that’s
where the similarities stop. My writing is nothing like Tolkien’s.

I would have to say music is what carried the
feeling in my book. I mentioned the music from the mines of Moria scene. I did
listen to the LOTR’s sound track quite a bit in the early phases of my free
writing. But I took any music that uplifted or motivated me, from Evanescence’s
Fallen CD to the Piano Guys. I think Twilight’s various sound tracks were a
major inspiration for me. Evenstar (LOTR) was my inspiration for the final
scene before the epilogue in my first novel, Master of Lies.

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“A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about.”-Woodrow Wilson